The cactus tells me that Spring is here, as I hike the trails right outside the door of my parents' Southern California home. After standing alone with its prickly parts all winter, blooms of yellow and pink are gracing the tops of the warding cacti. I love how Spring looks so different here. So different than the Colorado Spring I now know. And as I'm reminded of California Spring, the once ever familiar desert terrain and the dusty trails fill my heart with a sense of belonging.
I love Denver, and I love our new home after being there a year now--but there is something so comforting about running or hiking the same trails that I hiked when I was an 8 year old girl scout. Something that makes me breath differently because its the trail I ran the day before my wedding day. Something that stirs deep because this very same land is the spot I learned to love the outdoors and know its terrain. Its like opening a photo album and flooding in memories of the past--that's the gift I get when hiking these trails surrounded by cacti and rabbits.
I love our Denver home, and the Colorado soil that our roots are becoming firm in. But a part of me will always belong to California. A part will always feel alive when surrounded by cacti and avocado trees, and memories I put aside will become vivid again whenever I come back to this place that was the backdrop of my young life. What a gift that is!
What place is it that stirs your heart and brings you that sense of belonging?
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